Subway or bust?
It's the lunar new year holiday, and I'm visiting my parents in Illinois. Traveling from Taiwan to the U.S. has gotten me thinking about our chosen modes of urban transportation.
The reoccurring question that's been in my thoughts for years now is whether or not I will settle in Taiwan long term. Now that I'm experiencing what work life is like there, I'm getting a better feel for the benefits and downsides of living in Taipei. The city's public transportation system is one such apparent benefit.
Being in Illinois this past week has reinforced my feeling that I don't want to live in an environment where cars are the predominant mode of transportation. I made a video about the MRT (mass rapid transit) system in Taipei a couple weeks ago where I introduced the names of Taipei's subway lines. I received some comments on that video remarking that the subway looks clean and that the signs are colorful. Those are aspects of the subway I certainly enjoy. When contrasting subway transport and passenger cars, however, what stands out to me most is the opportunities they provide for social interaction and the types of habits they encourage in users.
Remembering my time in LA, I am struck by how much space we took up with our (mostly empty) cars all lined up on the busy highways. The cars become physical representations of our invisible, very large personal spaces, within which we do whatever makes us comfortable or happy. I would be remiss to claim that standing shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers in a subway car necessarily encourages conversation; most of us in Taipei are staring at our phones to escape the awkwardness. Although many don't take advantage of it, for those who are willing or eager to socialize, at least there are opportunities to connect within that space.
There are a lot of other problems that extensive subway lines could solve, and opportunities they could create. Daily physical activity is something many Americans are forced to go out of their ways to achieve, because their environments so often are not designed to support healthy movement. Walking just 10 minutes to and from a subway or bus station daily adds up to a significant amount of physical activity over time. Certainly I don't say this to imply that the kind of lifestyle I enjoy should be imposed on every American, but rather to suggest that it could at least be an option. Lower cost of living, reduced pollution, and greater community engagement are just some of the other potential benefits of adding mass rapid transit systems into our urban spaces.
When I consider whether I would move back to the U.S. in the future, I feel disappointed that I can only think of a handful of cities that offer subway lines. Not seeing any evidence of serious will to invest in building and maintaining these systems is one reason I doubt whether I can seriously consider relocating to the United States. No place is perfect, and Taiwan has its own problems, as certainly as do other states in Asia, Europe, and the rest of the world. This decision will continue to require an investment of time and research on my part to find the place that, all things considered, best supports the kind of lifestyle I desire.
One of the best things about traveling around the world is getting to see how other people live. Visiting Japan provided a pleasant shock for me last year, because it opened my eyes to ways of living I had never even considered were possible. I encourage everyone to get out and see the world when we can, if for no other reasons than to see our own countries from new perspectives and to call into question those aspects of our lives we so naturally take for granted.